What Should I Do If My Baby Looks Uncomfortable?

When should you reposition your baby and when should you leave them be?

The sight of a sleeping baby is one the most peaceful, sweet images I can think of. The way their arms fall by their side or over their head, the perfect stillness…at least that’s what it looks like in pictures! But we all know that the reality is that babies can be quite active sleepers, especially once they hit about 4 or 5 months and are learning to navigate their crib and roll over. This is when they start to get into those (sometimes laughable) uncomfortable-looking positions  

While it can be good for a little giggle, it can also be pretty concerning from a safety standpoint, and if it’s the middle of the night and you’re checking the baby monitor to see that your little one has squished themselves up against the top of the crib for the third time in under an hour, it can be really frustrating as well.

One of the keys for getting babies to sleep through the night involves teaching them independent sleep skills, and one of the most common questions I get asked is, “What should I do when my baby looks like they’re uncomfortable?” Parents don’t want to wake their baby up by moving them back to the middle of the crib and repositioning them, but they also don’t want to leave them bunched up in the corner of the crib looking like they’ve tied themselves in a knot.

As with most things parenting-related, the answer isn’t exactly black and white.

Let’s start with rolling since it’s one of the first things that really makes parents wonder how they should be responding. Many babies learn to roll from back to front before they master rolling from front to back which can lead to a frustrating few nights where the baby rolls on to their belly in their crib and gets stuck. In this case, the answer is straightforward; you’re going to want to flip them back over onto their back until they’ve figured out how to roll back over on their own.

Will that delay their ability to develop their independent sleep skills? Will they wake up cranky and fussy before going back to sleep? Well, maybe, but if baby’s face down on the mattress and can’t flip themselves over, you’ve got to intervene, no matter what.

The good news is that this is usually a short-term issue. Babies tend to learn how to roll from front-to-back quickly after they’ve learned the back-to-front,  so you don’t need to worry about months of late-night adjustments. Spend some time during the day practicing the roll-over and you should see them get the hang of it within a week or two.

Now, if baby’s gotten themselves into a position where they have an arm or leg sticking out of the crib that could potentially get stuck or twisted when they try to move, once again, you’ll just have to bite the bullet and get them repositioned. Do it quickly and quietly and try to engage with them as little as possible. Note that most cribs these days don’t have much potential for this kind of occurrence. They’ve moved the slats closer to each other so that little limbs can’t get through the gaps, but if something like this does happen, fix it quickly and leave the room.

Now, let’s say your baby has learned to flip from front to back, doesn’t have a limb in risk of injury, but has pushed themselves up against the side of their crib and just looks uncomfortable. Should you still get in there and move them back to the middle?

In this case, probably not. Babies tend to find comfort in some pretty awkward looking positions, and as long as their airway isn’t being obstructed, (i.e. head tilted forward, nose and mouth in contact with the mattress, etc) then it's probably best to just let them sleep. I know it can be a little concerning to see them with their knees practically tucked under their chin, but if they’re uncomfortable, they’ll most likely wake up and rearrange themselves. There’s not usually a need for a parent to reposition them.

Remember, safety first, always! It’s important talk to your doctor about safe sleep positions and make informed decisions about when you should and shouldn’t move them around in their crib. Often, if they’re sleeping peacefully, they’re doing just fine, no matter how silly they might look in the process.

And one final note, babies should not sleep in a “positioner,”  or “nest” and the crib should be free of bumper pads. Many of these positioners can force baby’s head to tilt forward and others have soft, plushy sides, both of which can obstruct breathing. Health Canada has deemed these to be unsafe sleep accessories.